Is Sámara worth visiting? A couples' guide

Yes, if you want a beach you can swim in and a town you can walk. Sámara's reef-sheltered bay, Isla Chora by kayak, Playa Carrillo and turtle nights at Ostional, planned as three days.

By Tres Mares · September 16, 2026 · 5 min read

Orange sunset reflected on the wet sand at Playa Sámara

Yes, Sámara is worth visiting, and for a couple it is the easiest beach town in Guanacaste to enjoy without a plan. The bay sits behind Isla Chora and an offshore reef that keep it calm enough to swim, the town is a few streets you walk end to end, and the excursions (a kayak to the island, Playa Carrillo, turtles at Ostional) each take half a day. Costa Rica Vibes suggests three nights, and this is what to do with them.

Why is Sámara different from the rest of Guanacaste?

Because you can get in the water. Two Weeks in Costa Rica describes a crescent beach of nearly 2 km in a protected cove, with an offshore island and reef that keep the water fairly calm, and lists Sámara and Carrillo among the region’s safer swimming beaches while naming Tamarindo, Nosara and Santa Teresa as surf beaches with big waves and strong currents. Costa Rica Vibes goes further: one of the most swimmable beaches in the country, gentle incline, almost no drop-off. For a couple that means a morning swim before breakfast and a float at sunset, which most of the Pacific coast does not allow.

The town matches the water. Restaurants sit on the sand, two banks and the supermarkets are a short walk, and the evening is a walk along the beach rather than a bar crawl. A guide comparing it with Nosara calls Sámara a real Costa Rican town first and a tourist destination second, and that is the feel.

What do you do for three days?

Day one: the bay and the porch. Arrive from Liberia, about 2 to 2.5 hours on paved road per Costa Rica Vibes, drop your bags at the house and swim. Casa Almendros is on the beach, so the afternoon is the sand in front of the door, and the porch faces the sunset. Local restaurants are a short walk from the house; the center of town is a short drive, or a taxi if you did not rent a car.

Day two: Isla Chora at low tide, Carrillo after lunch. The kayak or paddleboard trip to the island is about 20 minutes each way, timed to low tide, with snorkeling off the rocks. Two Weeks in Costa Rica’s tour is $52 per adult plus tax and about 3 hours door to door, and boards and kayaks rent in town at about $10 to $12 an hour on Pato’s rate card. After lunch drive 4 km south to Playa Carrillo, a five-minute drive: a long curve of light sand behind palms, waves gentle enough for small children, and nothing built on it, so bring water and shade.

Day three: forest in the morning, turtles at night. Samara Trails runs a 2.5-hour guided hike through the 140-hectare Werner Sauter reserve at 6:30 and 14:30 for $52 per adult; Wingnuts’ canopy tour runs 7:00 to 14:30 for $80 per adult on its 2025 to 2026 rates; a private surf lesson at Pato’s is $80 for 1.5 hours if one of you wants to try the small waves. Then, if your dates fall between September and November and near the last quarter moon, drive about an hour and a half north to Ostional for an arribada. Tico Times reported more than 100,000 olive ridleys coming ashore in a single night there in September 2026. Entry is $13.56 for non-residents and a certified local guide is mandatory per SINAC; operators in Sámara run the evening trip with the guide included.

Sámara or Nosara for a couple?

Sámara for swimming, walking and price; Nosara for surf and yoga. Costa Rica Vibes describes Nosara as a smaller, more village-like town 30 minutes north, surfier and less family-oriented. Book with Maria’s May 2026 comparison puts it in one line each: Sámara sits inside a protected bay that makes the water unusually calm for the Pacific, while Playa Guiones in Nosara is exposed and gets consistent, punchy waves year round, and Nosara is now one of the most expensive addresses on the coast. The 33 km between them is mostly unpaved Route 160 per kimkim, with a river crossing that Two Weeks in Costa Rica says is often impassable in the rainy months, so a day trip north is a dry-season, 4x4 idea. Couples who want both usually sleep in Sámara and visit Nosara, not the other way round.

When should you go?

December to March if you want certainty: the IMN puts only 4 percent of the year’s rain in those months on the northern Pacific, with April as the transition and the rains from May. Costa Rica Vibes puts highs around 34 °C in March and April, when the hills are brown, and 28 °C in September and October, when they are green and the afternoon showers are heaviest. July and August often bring a short dry spell. For a couple, the green season is the quieter and cheaper Sámara, with sunny mornings and rain you wait out over lunch; the dry season is the postcard.

What does it cost per person?

About $150 in activities for the three days above: $52 for the Isla Chora tour, $52 for the guided hike, $13.56 for the Ostional entry plus the guide and transport, and the kayak or board rentals at $10 to $12 an hour. Swap the hike for the canopy tour ($80) or a surf lesson ($80) and it rises to about $180. The beaches, the sunsets and the walk to Carrillo cost nothing. The house is priced per night, not per person, which is where two people traveling together come out ahead.

How do you get there and do you need a car?

Fly into Liberia (LIR) and drive Route 21 to Nicoya, then Route 150 to the coast: about 110 km, 2 to 2.5 hours, paved the whole way, no 4x4 needed for the drive in, per Costa Rica Vibes. Tropical Tours runs a shared shuttle from the airport at 9:00 and 15:00 for $50 per person if you would rather not drive. Once in Sámara, the restaurants near the house are a short walk, but the center of town is a short drive, and Carrillo, the hike and Ostional need wheels, and the dirt roads north need clearance, so a small SUV from the airport is the right rental. The full area notes, including the route from San José, are in our Sámara guide.

Where to stay

Casa Almendros is ours: a beachfront house with three bedrooms, two bathrooms, air conditioning, Wi-Fi and a full kitchen for up to six, with the sand steps from the door and the sunset from the porch, from $303 a night with a two-night minimum. For two people it is more house than you need, which after a week of hotel rooms is the point. Coming from the cloud forest, Monteverde is the natural stop before it.

Questions this guide answers

How far is Nosara from Sámara?

About 33 km, and roughly an hour, per kimkim, because most of coastal Route 160 is unpaved. Two Weeks in Costa Rica's September 2026 road report says the stretch from Barco Quebrado has huge potholes and a river crossing that is often impassable in the rainy months, so many drivers go the long way round via Route 150 and Route 21. Treat it as a dry-season day trip with a 4x4 rather than a commute.

Can you see sea turtles from Sámara?

Yes, at Ostional, about an hour and a half north by car. The refuge is open 5:00 to 21:00, entry is $13.56 for non-residents, and during an arribada you must go in with a certified local guide in groups of up to nine, per SINAC and Tico Times. The mass nestings come once or twice a month around the last quarter moon and are largest from September to November. Local operators run guided evening trips from Sámara.

Is Playa Carrillo better than Playa Sámara?

Different. Carrillo, 4 km south and a five-minute drive per Mytanfeet, is the prettier curve, a long light-sand beach behind a thick row of palms with calm waves and no buildings, but also no bathrooms, showers or restaurants. Sámara has the town at its back: kayaks, lunch on the sand, a swim, dinner. Spend the afternoon at Carrillo, then sleep and eat in Sámara.

Is Sámara good if we do not surf?

It is better if you do not. The bay behind Isla Chora and the reef is calm enough that Costa Rica Vibes calls it one of the most swimmable beaches in Costa Rica, and Two Weeks in Costa Rica lists Sámara and Carrillo among Guanacaste's safer swimming beaches while naming Nosara and Tamarindo as surf beaches with big waves and strong currents. If one of you wants to try anyway, the small waves suit beginners and lessons run 1.5 hours.

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